by Ruby Loren
3
The Serpentine Emerald
“You’re sure it’s okay for me to come along tonight?” Lowell asked as were were driving up the hill to Dracondia Manor. On a nicer evening, we’d have probably walked the short distance.
“Yes! Plus ones were encouraged, although I don’t think anyone is expecting me to bring one.” I smiled to myself. “The Snidelys don’t seem to mind how many people come. It’s a buffet and I expect they're well-stocked.”
We pulled up in the gravelled car park and then raced for shelter beneath the eaves of the manor house.
Lord Snidely threw his arms wide when I entered and pulled me in for a kiss on each cheek before I could even blink.
“The hero of the hour! Joan told me all about your adventure this morning. Well done for saving the dear girl, although heaven knows what had gotten into her." He shook his head theatrically. “If this happens much more frequently, the police will think we’re trafficking drugs!”
Lowell cleared his throat and Lord Snidely stuck out a hand for him to shake.
“I’m sorry, you said more frequently? Has anyone else at the zoo shown the same symptoms?” he asked Lord Snidely.
“Yes! Why, only a little over a week ago…” His gaze found mine again. “Of course! You wouldn’t have been here then. Well, something odd happened to one of our house stewards, Leo. He was on his lunch break down in the food zone and all of a sudden he starts laughing his head off and running round in circles. He even started pulling off his clothes, would you believe! Fortunately, he’d only got as far as his shirt when he passed out.” He winked and then rubbed his grey and white moustache. “The doctors were baffled but thought it could be the result of a bad reaction to some medication the chap was on, or even a reaction to a psychoactive drug. Now, from what I’ve heard, the big cat keeper suffered something similar, so I don’t know what to think." Lord Snidely's brow furrowed.
I couldn’t blame him for being concerned. No one wanted to think that something illegal was being conducted on their premises.
“Did the steward have anything to say about it?” I asked, but Lord Snidely shook his head.
“He still claims he doesn’t know what happened. He believes himself to be the victim of an attack.”
I thought about that for a second. A single incident could easily be brushed away but after my experience this morning… Was something strange happening to people who worked at Snidely Safari and Wildlife Park?
“Harold, there you are!” Joan Snidely floated into the hall wearing a pale green dress, embroidered with glittering silver thread. She wore a matching shawl and looked as though she’d jumped straight out of the roaring 20s.
“You're supposed to be making a speech in two minutes! What on earth are you doing out here?” Joan threw me a tightlipped smile.
I suddenly realised I’d completely forgotten to mention the surprise visitor. “Joan,” I started to say but she just waved apologetically before dragging Harold Snidely towards the main hall.
“You’ll have to ask Trinity, if it’s important,” she called back.
I turned with some curiosity to face the woman who had been following Joan Snidely. She was tall and willowy with stylishly side-parted, short brown hair. I estimated her to be in her early thirties. She wore a dark blue sheath dress that looked simple, but hinting of expensive taste.
“Trinity Snidely. We haven’t yet been introduced,” the woman said and stuck out her hand for me to shake, before she turned and shook Lowell’s, too. I couldn’t help but notice she lingered longer over that handshake.
“Are you the Snidelys’…” I hesitated. If I got my next words wrong I could do irreparable damage.
Trinity’s lips quirked up in a way that let me know I wasn’t the first one to struggle.
“I’m actually a cousin, a couple of times removed, or something like that,” she said. “I was on holiday until today but despite that, I've already heard quite a lot about you.” She raised a perfectly plucked eyebrow.
“So, you work here?” Lowell said and I knew he was trying to refocus the conversation. I shook myself and gave him a side smile.
“Yes, I do. I help Joan and Harold to manage things around here. It’s the least I can do, being family and all.” She smiled at Lowell, but I thought there was something wolfish about that grin. I knew a frown was creasing my forehead. I hurriedly smoothed it back out before anyone noticed.
“No direct heir to the fortune, I suppose?” I said, dryly, and then bit my tongue when Trinity looked sharply at me. What was I thinking?! I’d definitely noticed the absence of any younger Snidelys around the place, but that didn’t necessarily mean there weren’t any.
I cleared my throat and prayed we could all just pretend that hadn’t slipped out.
“There’s a problem you should know about,” I said and then launched into the story of how George Ashdown had turned up in the middle of the storm. I was just about to get to the snake when Trinity held up a hand.
“Excuse me, you let this ‘George Ashdown' stay in the critical care unit?”
I blanched. “Yes, well, there just didn’t seem any other choice. You see, he had with him a…”
“I need to go and discuss this with Joan. Come in and have something to eat. I’ll get a caretaker down there to watch him,” she said, shepherding us into the main hall.
“But!” I tried to say but she’d already strutted away. I saw her bend over and whisper something to Joan and Harold, who murmured together for a moment before Lord Snidely stood up to begin his speech.
“They’ll figure it out,” Lowell said, placing a hand on my lower back. I tried not to shiver with delight at the warmth that radiated from him. This was what I got for wearing a cap-sleeved dress on the coldest summer night of the year!
By the time we sat down, Harold Snidely was just beginning his speech. As a ripple of appreciative laughter over a witty comment rang out, I couldn’t help but notice at least half of the eyes in the room were looking my way. News of this morning’s events had evidently spread just as quickly as gossip had travelled back at Avery Zoo.
A stab of nostalgia ran through me. It had been a few weeks since I’d last spoken to Tiff and said goodbye to Auryn. I even thought I might be missing Jenna, which was really saying something.
I was snapped out of my reverie when Lord Snidely giggled. At first it was quiet. Then wild and uncontrollable. Hairs rose on the back of my neck. I was instantly transported back to when Kerry had done the exact same thing.
Joan Snidely was next to him in an instant and to my surprise, the giggling stopped. Lord Snidely looked flushed but was not unconscious by any means. Had the hysterical giggles just been normal, speech giving nerves?
“I don’t feel well,” I heard him mutter from my place at the table. He turned and walked out of the main hall, leaving the diners in confused silence.
Joan stretched a comfortable smile across her face, clearly well-versed in handling any social situation. “Unfortunately Lord Snidely has been taken ill but please - eat, drink! Let’s enjoy and celebrate the end of our most successful summer season to date.”
A smattering of applause broke out and then grew in volume when people were reassured by Lady Snidely’s comments.
“That was strange,” Lowell whispered in my ear.
I nodded. “For a moment, I thought what happened to Kerry and that steward had happened to him, but maybe his nerves just got the best of him.”
“Maybe,” Lowell replied, pushing his chair back and standing up.
When I looked at him, he simply raised a dark eyebrow. “I think I remember the bathroom being that way,” he nodded in the direction that Lord Snidely had disappeared, the moment he’d been out of the hall.
“I’ll come with you,” I said, hoping to cover for any listening ears.
The vast majority of guests were on their feet to graze the buffet by now, so we exited the main hall unnoticed.
The corridor Lord Sn
idely had turned down was lavishly carpeted. Although I knew some portions of the house were open to the public, I suspected this area was not one of them. Cracked oil paintings hung from the walls and even the air seemed thick with age. We turned another corner, still without sight of Lord Snidely.
“There are so many rooms. He could be in any…” I started to say but felt Lowell’s hand on my shoulder. He was looking out of one of the large, rectangle paned windows. I followed his gaze and noticed we were looking out over the car park at the back of Dracondia Manor. Despite the lashing rain, we could both make out the figure dressed in a dark suit who ran over to a black Aston Martin and jumped in. The engine revved and the car exited the car park in a shower of gravel.
“That’s an unusual way for someone unwell to behave,” Lowell said, dryly. I inclined my head in agreement, knowing we were both wondering why Lord Snidely had abandoned his speech, only to make a swift escape from the manor.
I was about to ask Lowell if he had any ideas, when someone noisily cleared their throat behind us. I spun guiltily and came face to face with Joan Snidely. Her face was blank and gave no inkling as to whether or not she’d just caught us spying on her husband.
“Are you lost?” she asked.
“Yes, Madi wanted to show me public bits of the house, but I think we took a wrong turn,” Lowell said, as smooth as I'd ever seen him. His whole manner had changed since his last job when he’d been posing as a builder. Now, you wouldn’t have thought him out of place at a formal dinner with the upper crust of society.
It would appear that Joan thought that to be the case, too. She smiled at him and I felt the weight of worry that I’d be immediately fired slip from my shoulders.
“I recommend when you arrive at the main hall, you turn left up the stairs. The room at the top holds my family’s greatest treasures, including the legendary Serpentine Emerald.” Her eyes twinkled. "Just don’t be tempted to pocket it. Everyone who’s ever tried says the emerald is cursed. Well… those who’ve lived to tell the tale.”
Her tone was jocular, but I knew Lowell could hear the edge in her voice as well as I could. We were being warned to keep our noses clean. Perhaps she had seen more than she was letting on.
We left Joan Snidely behind and made our way back to the main hall. Lowell and I paused by the stairs.
“We should go and look,” I said, more than a little reluctant. I really didn’t want to be looking at a dusty old gem when there was food on offer. Not to mention, I hadn't exactly solved the sickly snake problem! I had no idea if Trinity had managed to galvanise anyone to go and check on George, or if she’d been distracted by Lord Snidely’s sudden illness and subsequent departure.
“Let’s make it quick,” Lowell agreed, although I wasn’t sure if he just found shiny things boring or was also thinking of the food.
“There’d better be some left,” I said under my breath and Lowell looked at me in surprise. Apparently he wasn't thinking about the food after all. But then, considering his rather magnificent physique, buffet dinners probably weren’t his style.
I pushed open the large double doors at the top of the stairs and peered inside at the gloom.
“I’m guessing this is where we’re supposed to go?” I looked down at the carpeted floor and noticed that here it was threadbare. We were definitely in the public area.
I slid into the room and fumbled for the light switch. A faux crystal chandelier illuminated the room and the various glass boxes on podiums within it. Some contained artefacts dug up from the grounds and there was also a solid gold necklace belonging to a long dead Snidely, but the star attraction was at the centre of the room.
It was the largest emerald I’d ever seen. Its beautifully cut surface reflected the light of the chandelier and it was polished to perfection.
“Sparkly,” I breathed, stepping closer to the case. A cardboard plaque below the jewel informed me that this was the Serpentine Emerald (which I’d already guessed) and that it was considered the cursed treasure of the Snidely family. Thieves had targeted the gem for centuries and all had failed.
The most recent attempt was back in the Victorian era. The would-be thief was discovered the next morning by the then Lord Snidely in a pit of black mambas. The jewel was on the grass next to the pit and the general consensus had been that the curse of the emerald meant he’d fallen into the pit whilst trying to make his escape.
No one had attempted to take the jewel since.
I frowned at the plaque. I had a lot of questions. Most importantly, why did this mini-article seem absolutely okay with the fact that there had clearly been an open pit full of venomous snakes in the grounds?
“Hey, Lowell,” I called, but he wasn't looking at any of the treasures in the room. Instead, his eyes were fixed on the carpet.
“Where do you even get something like this?” he said, pointing to the vast rug we were stood upon. I looked at it for a few seconds before I realised what I was seeing.
What I'd taken to be an unusual, abstract pattern, was actually an image of thousands upon thousands of snakes, all tangled up with each other.
“The Snidelys have a fondness for snakes,” I explained. Even the main hall was usually packed with tanks of snakes and other exotic reptiles (all venomous in one way or another) but I'd noticed they’d been moved for tonight’s dinner. Perhaps the Snidelys were aware that their predilection towards coldblooded creatures wasn’t shared by everyone. That or they didn’t want their snakes to be mistaken for hors d’ouvres.
“Come on, we’d better check that Trinity found someone to go and see our unwanted visitor and his poor snake.” The unusual carpet had reminded me of my possible predicament.
My feelings only got worse when we returned downstairs and finally succeeded in cornering Trinity.
“Oh, goodness! I completely forgot,” she said when I asked if she’d sent anyone to check on the strange Mr Ashdown. “Look, I’m being rushed off my feet now Lord Snidely’s unwell. Would you mind finding someone and going and sorting it out? Sorting things out is what you're good at, right?” She said, flashing me another predatory smile.
I gave her one back, although I probably looked more like an irate Chihuahua rather than a sleek and dangerous wolf. “No problem at all.” It looked like I wouldn’t be enjoying what was left of the buffet after all.
“I think that’s one of the reptile keepers,” I said, but before we could make a move, a harsh giggling sound broke out. I spun to see a man I didn’t recognise bent double. Tears streamed from his eyes before he ran and made a flying leap onto the buffet table. Platters of salmon and prawns flew everywhere as he kicked them, twirling in a dance to music that no one else heard. It was almost comical the way he suddenly paused, with one foot raised in the air, before he crashed down, face first into a smoked mackerel roulade. I silently sighed at the waste.
“He’s unconscious,” the first person to reach the man said after he'd checked for a pulse.
“It’s happening again,” I observed. I chewed on my lip for a moment, with too many questions running through my brain. Underneath it all, what I couldn’t shake was the feeling that something was very wrong, and there was only one thing I thought it could be attributed to…
“Let’s get back down to the critical care unit right now,” I said, forgetting about snagging a reptile keeper. When we got back, I’d send Lowell to find one of the on duty keepers. With any luck, they’d know exactly who to ask and we could go from there.
Outside, the downpour showed no sign of letting up. Lightning streaked across the sky, illuminating the gravelled car park. I noted that the Aston Martin hadn’t returned.
“Come on,” I said, running towards my little car. Lowell was just behind me.
We completed the drive back down to the critical care unit in silence. Neither of us needed to speak out loud to voice our suspicions that something was going on. I only hoped I was wrong about George Ashdown’s strange appearance being a part of some conspiracy.
“His car’s gone,” Lowell said, as soon as we pulled up in the car park. The battered Fiat had indeed disappeared but in its place was a blue VW estate.
“Maybe Trinity managed to get someone here after all?” However, I doubted she’d managed to call anyone in the few seconds between our brief conversation and when the guest had gone mad and danced on the table. I even thought I remembered her being one of the first to rush over and start putting the poor man into the recovery position.
For a moment, the rain eased off and I wasted a couple of seconds looking at the new car. I definitely hadn’t seen it around before.
“Madi!” Lowell said, his voice low and urgent. I followed his gaze and we both looked at the dark spray of blood on the cream wall of the critical care unit.
We didn’t speak again until we rounded the corner and I saw the door I’d left unlocked, swinging in the howling gale. I swore and started forwards, worried that all I was going to find inside would be empty cages.
That was why I nearly tripped over the body lying on the ground.
4
The Settee and the Suspect
“Oh… oh no,” I whispered, my eyes drawn to the horror in front of me. A woman was sprawled out on the paving slabs. Red stained the floor, as rain mingled with the spreading pool of blood and made it run everywhere. The cause of her death was obvious. A meat cleaver was still embedded in the back of her head.
“I think it’s one of the ones used to chop up the big cats’ food,” I said when Lowell arrived next to me, sensibly using his phone as a torch. My voice was refusing to come out any louder than a whisper.
He glanced around and then used the tip of his brogue to nudge her head to the side, so her face was visible. He shone his phone torch on her pale face. I swallowed hard at the sight of her glassy eyes.
“Do you know her?” he asked.
I shook my head. I’d never seen her before in my life. “We've got to call the police.”
